• The city as an aesthetic space

    Author(s):
    Mirza Tursic (see profile)
    Date:
    2019
    Subject(s):
    Aesthetics, Cities and towns, Phenomenology, Place (Philosophy), Space, Urban geography, Sociology, Urban
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    aesthetic experience, Switzerland, urbanity, urban space, City, Phenomenology of place and space, Urban sociology, Urban studies
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/3v5q-5k02
    Abstract:
    This paper uses the relational space paradigm to bridge some gaps between the field of aesthetics and the field of urban studies. By introducing the concept of aesthetic space, I analyze a particular sort of direct lived experience through which memories of the past, latent reality and the actualized perceived present are conjured together, informing one another. Studying the aesthetic space can help urban researchers better understand how the world becomes internalized or externalized by inhabitants, how they develop a stronger concern for justice, or how novelty is borne from a constant dialogue between the ethical and the aesthetic. Like many other social phenomena, aesthetic categories are emergent, meaning that categories with different qualities appear at each different scale. In this sense, aesthetic appreciation of the city as a whole cannot be solely understood as the sum of the aesthetic appreciations of its separate parts. The production of a scale as a societal problem is analyzed through the concept of style. A few examples are examined.
    Notes:
    The paper is about how inhabitants develop their aesthetic sensibility in the urban environment and how aesthetics influence urban processes. I consider inhabitants as true co-producers of scientific knowledge and strongly underline the importance of the trans-disciplinary and critical approach in both theory and practice.
    Metadata:
    Published as:
    Journal article    
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    5 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved
    Share this:

    Downloads

    Item Name: pdf the-city-as-an-aesthetic-space-preprint.pdf
      Download View in browser
    Activity: Downloads: 114